There’s nothing more glorious than a redemption run after having the confidence knocked out of you. And today was redemption day.
We headed out to my happy place at Gunpowder Falls for 12 miles. We took the pink trail which starts with a climb. I settled in with my mid-pack but then something happened at about mile 2 or 3. It clicked. Continue reading
On Saturday, when I realized as I was driving to meet my friends to carpool to our 22 mile run that I still had my slippers on, I knew it was going to be one of those days. I made a quick call and sent a messages to my crew that I had to turn around. We had planned on meeting at 6:45 am, but they were kind enough to wait for me and I’m glad they did.
I woke up feeling great. I got enough sleep…although wearing my slippers out the door has me questioning that…and my mental game was on. As we started running, I quickly settled in the middle. Once again, I tried my best to keep up with the fast kids, but I just couldn’t keep up. Continue reading
When you want to be fast, you gotta run with the fast. This week, I was chasing fast boys and barely keeping up. My target mileage for this week was 44 miles. I ran 37 leaving me short 7 miles. We had another winter blast that came in on Tuesday and with my work schedule, I just couldn’t make the run happen indoors or out. While the missed mileage wasn’t ideal, I did nail some of the runs that I did get in. Continue reading
Last week had its ups and downs, which is typical during training. But after looking at last week’s totals, I actually did better than I thought. As you can see below, there were hits and misses, but overall, not too terrible. Continue reading
It’s tough betting back into the swing of things after the holidays. I officially started training in December and really haven’t had many issues. The goal for this season is to get faster, and for the most part, I see progress. With the exception for the week of January 16th when I ran PHUNT 50k, my weekly mileage has been in the 30’s. The 50k tipped me over into a 40-mile week. Continue reading
I just came back from a two week trip to Italy. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a dear friend of mine but I never found the time to go. With everything that has happened this year, this little vacation was exactly what I needed. This trip wasn’t meant for sight-seeing as I did the tourist thing the last time I went, but instead, it was just to get away, spend time with my friend, and clear the noise in my head. I got my training in, made new life long friends, and fell in love. Continue reading
Last Monday was the official kick off for laying the ground work for the 100-miler. I’ve enlisted the help of a coach, James Whipple (Whip Runs) who is a kick-ass ultramarathoner. When I saw the initial first weeks of the training plan (which focuses on my first big race, the Northface Endurance Challenge DC 50-miler) my heart stopped at the word treadmill. Say it isn’t so!!! The forbidden dreadmill! I hadn’t ran on a treadmill since the year I started running and I had no intentions of ever running on a treadmill ever again. But there it was…treadmill work. He says that it will help me with controlling my pace and increasing my speed, and since he knows more about this stuff than I do, I will give it a try. Besides, my friend Tom, who is currently training for Leadville, did 90% of his training for his first 100-miler on the forbidden dreadmill. He survived and he finished. Continue reading
I woke up this morning, did an hour of yoga and an hour of weight training at the gym and had no intentions of running. As the day went on, something kept welling up inside of me. I NEEDED to get out and run. I always get emotional this time of year as I reflect on all that has happened in the year and look to what the new year has to bring. This year was the first year I started trail running and I don’t know if that played a part of today’s run or what, but it was a very spiritual run. And my heart was full. Continue reading
When I registered for the JFK50 at the beginning of the summer, I knew that there was a chance of burning out. I have been training non-stop since I started running almost 3 years ago, but I got caught up in the moment and signed up anyway. There were spots left in what is typically a sold out race, and it was the oldest foot race in America, so why not? I had only trained for 9 weeks with my last 50-miler (NorthFace Endurance Challenge DC) and wanted to see what I could really do if I hunkered down and trained hard. Well, if you’ve been following my blog, you know that the exact opposite happened. I got sick, and busy, yada, yada…needless to say, the training really didn’t happen. Continue reading
As with the last 50-Miler that I did, I really wanted to get out to the course and see what I was up against. JFK50 has been known to be a great beginner’s 50-Miler, but with the 12-hour cutoff time, I’m worried that I can’t make it. As you recall, I finished my last 50-miler in 12:34:54 seconds. Yeah, I know it’s a different course, but still…I can’t help but worry. So, I hooked up with another runner (Erin) that I met through a friend of a friend via my Facebook page and we headed out to the Appalachian Trails (AT). Erin, who is one of the most organized people I know, planned out the details of both of our recon runs and I’m so glad she did. I didn’t have to lift one brain cell to think about anything at all. I just followed her lead. (THANK YOU ERIN!) Continue reading
So What? I run. 